Bengaluru (PTI): The Bengaluru Police have sought shifting of Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa and other accused in the Renukaswamy murder case, and rowdy elements from Parappana Agrahara jail here to other prisons, city Police Commissioner B Dayananda said on Tuesday.

The city police's proposal comes in the wake of a photograph of Darshan hanging out with three others, including a rowdy-sheeter, on the lawns of the jail emerging on social media on Sunday, sparking a row.

In the picture, the actor is seen in a relaxed mood, sitting on a chair and holding a cigarette and a coffee mug. Also, a purported video of Darshan speaking to a person over a video call from the prison too had surfaced on social media.

Nine prison officials, including Chief Jail Superintendent, were suspended on Monday for allegedly giving special treatment to Darshan, who is currently in judicial custody, following an inquiry.

Speaking to reporters here, Dayananda said that three cases have been registered in connection with the incident at the prison. One of the cases will be investigated by an Assistant Commissioner of Police while two other cases by Inspectors.

Talking about the cases, he said on matters concerning prisons, court's permission is required and police are in the process of getting it for a detailed investigation. The cases have been registered under the Prisons Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

"On Saturday, when a team of the Central Crime Branch had gone to check all the barracks of the prison, based on information that certain rowdies were involved in illegal activities, we did not find any incriminating materials or evidence then. Now, we have got information that certain things could have been shifted elsewhere before we reached there. Investigation is on regarding this," he said.

Dayananda said that a lot of rowdy elements are lodged in Parappana Agrahara jail following their arrest under the Karnataka Control of Organised Crime Act (KCOCA).

"As there are chances that they (rowdies) may get involved in illegal activities, we have requested them to be shifted elsewhere. Along with rowdy elements, those involved in the Renukaswamy murder case, who are in question now, we have also asked them to be shifted to another place," he added.

 

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.

The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.

Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.

The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.

India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.

In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.

Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.

The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.

It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.

Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.

The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.

The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.

On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.